Trivia 2026 (miscellaneous news)

Homo Aeroportus · Post by **Homo Aeroportus** » 21 Jan 2026, 11:50

AF1 has just got Feet Dry above Britanny.

No indication why the second VC-25 couldn't take over.

Possible promotion opportunities within the USAF top brass in the near future

H.A.

globetrotter · Post by **globetrotter** » 18 Feb 2026, 09:51

Korean Air Cargo wont be applying Cargo title on new livery one 777 is already in that look.

China Airlines has reintroduced full Chinese titles on its livery so far its only on a cargo 777 may be only for cargo fleet, titles are like hand painted effect from their original 1970s livery.

globetrotter · Post by **globetrotter** » 19 Feb 2026, 12:28

globetrotter wrote: 18 Feb 2026, 09:51 Korean Air Cargo wont be applying Cargo title on new livery one 777 is already in that look.

China Airlines has reintroduced full Chinese titles on its livery so far its only on a cargo 777 may be only for cargo fleet, titles are like hand painted effect from their original 1970s livery.

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/11953775

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/11978135

China airlines Cargo had also added Taiwan map silhouette in centre of C in the cargo title thats gone too, hail China.

globetrotter · Post by **globetrotter** » 21 Feb 2026, 06:46

Virgin Atlantic will launch its first Southeast Asian destination Phuket, Thailand in November, as a seasonal destination.

Homo Aeroportus · Post by **Homo Aeroportus** » 02 Mar 2026, 11:39

Seems D-AIMK was in AUH for maintenance since 06NOV25.

She had a 5-hour test flight last Thursday then something hit the fan in the region....

She took to the skies this morning heading back home, probably after a meeting with the insurance company as staying on the ground in AUH is not very healthy these days.

ETA EDDM is 18:09.
In Airbus language that means "Cold Beer .... Blue"

H.A.

Passenger · Post by **Passenger** » 02 Mar 2026, 15:58

Richard Quest - CNN's top aviation expert - ranks "The best passenger airplanes of all time".

And his number isn't an Airbus or a Boeing:

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/best-pas ... hard-quest

Post by **sn26567** » 02 Mar 2026, 23:24

Passenger wrote: 02 Mar 2026, 15:58 Richard Quest - CNN's top aviation expert - ranks "The best passenger airplanes of all time".

And his number isn't an Airbus or a Boeing:

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/best-pas ... hard-quest

His selection seems nevertheless heavily biased towards American planes...

Established02 · Post by **Established02** » 06 Mar 2026, 07:51

GROK: Flemish Airport "Jack-of-All-Trades" TCR Changes Hands in Billion-Euro Deal

On March 5, 2026, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) — a leading infrastructure investor and part of BlackRock — announced it has agreed to acquire TCR, the world’s largest independent lessor of airport ground support equipment (GSE). The seller is 3i Infrastructure plc, which is divesting its 71% stake for €1.14 billion (approx. $1.32 billion). The implied equity value is around €1.6 billion, with an enterprise value well above €2 billion. TCR’s management team is rolling over part of its shares and will invest alongside GIP in the new ownership structure. The deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close later in 2026.

What does TCR actually do? TCR (headquartered in Steenokkerzeel, right next to Brussels Airport) owns and manages a massive global fleet of specialised airport equipment: baggage tractors, pushback tugs, ground power units, loaders, and more. This equipment is essential for ground handlers to load/unload, tow, and prepare aircraft at the gate — both for passenger and cargo flights. TCR operates at more than 200 airports worldwide and is nicknamed the “manusje-van-alles van de luchthaven” (the airport’s jack-of-all-trades) in Belgium because no plane can turn around efficiently without this critical infrastructure. Why is this deal significant? It’s a classic infrastructure play: stable, long-term cash flows tied to global aviation growth.

GIP sees TCR as a strategic addition to its transport platform and a bet on the continued recovery and expansion of air travel.
For Belgium, TCR remains a key local player and major employer in the aviation cluster around Brussels Airport.

convair · Post by **convair** » 06 Mar 2026, 14:15

Nice development for this dynamic belgian company!

rwandan-flyer · Post by **rwandan-flyer** » 13 Mar 2026, 11:45

USA / Israel - Iran war impact on aviation

Air New Zealand slashes flights to save fuel costs

Air New Zealand is set to cancel around 1,100 flights over the next few months as it aims to cut fuel costs amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.

Speaking to RNZ, Air New Zealand CEO Nikhil Ravishankar said while no routes will be axed entirely, services will be reduced “proportionally across the board”. The airline earlier this week suspended its financial guidance due to the volatility in fuel prices. https://australianaviation.com.au/2026/ ... uel-costs/

In France, we have Volotea which will temporary suspend flights in April and May on some routes. On threads, some people have shared the reason. The statement of Volotea is in French says that;

Here is a summary. Due to the current situation in the Middle East we are forced to suspend some services in April and May. These adjustments are necessary to maintain stability in our short-term flight schedules. I guess the reasons are same that for Air New Zealand. The discussion is in French, but you can click on Translate to read the comment in English https://www.threads.com/@west_leer/post ... e0-&slof=1

In France Volotea is not a small airline. They have 10 bases: Lourdes, Rodez, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseilles, Nantes, Brest, Lille and Lyons. This year they will open 2 more bases: Limoges and Montpellier (my former home airport

). They operate 74 domestic routes and a total of 290 routes in France (domestic, Europe and North Africa)

globetrotter · Post by **globetrotter** » 14 Mar 2026, 20:34

UPS retired MD11F fleet in January.

lumumba · Post by **lumumba** » 30 Mar 2026, 20:40

With all the current wars, is there a risk that Qatar or Emirates could go bankrupt?
Because they must lose millions....

Even when the war ends, it will take a long time to return to equal traffic levels.

rwandan-flyer · Post by **rwandan-flyer** » 17 Jun 2026, 13:36

Lufthansa Group is sometimes rightly criticized, but frankly, IAG is almost worse.

Aer Lingus is profitable, but not profitable enough for IAG. IAG wants a margin between 12% and 14%. As a result, the airline will reduce its staff and close routes by hoping that its financial situation will improve. Otherwise, IAG will invest less in Aer Lingus.

It's not yet known which routes Aer Lingus will permanently close.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2026/06/1 ... work-cuts/

The airline is also suffering from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and has already reduced its capacity for this summer on Seattle, San Francisco, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Toronto, Berlin, Zurich, Athens, Faro, Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. https://www.cityam.com/aer-lingus-slash ... ade-bites/

rwandan-flyer · Post by **rwandan-flyer** » 05 Jul 2026, 18:04

Since 2 days, lots of cancelations every day at Air France, mainly for the short and medium haul flights. The have issues with their fleets.

Air France HOP with ERJ 190

Air France Mainline with the A320 and A220. And the A350 and B777 for the long haul flights, but less impacted

Furthermore several flights have btw 1h and 3h of delays. I guess there aircraft arriving with delays and switching aircraft because an aircraft is not ready to leave the maintenance. So they take an aircraft which is probably spending its day at a remote parking stand, but not yet ready to leace right now. It could be planned to fliy on a flight operated late in the evening, and not in the middle of morning.

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airp ... departures

2 flights btw Paris Cdg and Marseilles (France) operated with the B777-300ER, due the cancelations of some flights. One yesterday and one today.

2 CDG Marseilles flights canceled yesterday, 3 today.

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/af7342

Last week Air France sent the A330-200 to Boston on the AF332 flight (the 2nd daily flight CDG BOS operated in the evening each summer) replacing the A350-900 https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/af332

rwandan-flyer · Post by **rwandan-flyer** » 16 Jul 2026, 12:09

rwandan-flyer wrote: 17 Jun 2026, 13:36 Lufthansa Group is sometimes rightly criticized, but frankly, IAG is almost worse.

Aer Lingus is profitable, but not profitable enough for IAG. IAG wants a margin between 12% and 14%. As a result, the airline will reduce its staff and close routes by hoping that its financial situation will improve. Otherwise, IAG will invest less in Aer Lingus.

It's not yet known which routes Aer Lingus will permanently close.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2026/06/1 ... work-cuts/

The airline is also suffering from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and has already reduced its capacity for this summer on Seattle, San Francisco, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Toronto, Berlin, Zurich, Athens, Faro, Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. https://www.cityam.com/aer-lingus-slash ... ade-bites/

Aer Lingus Dublin-Las Vegas route axed as airline announces up to 500 job cuts

The cost-saving measures will place 290 head office positions at risk, alongside 140 cabin crew roles and 70 pilot jobs

[....]

Dublin to Denver will be discontinued after 28 September.
Dublin to Minneapolis will be discontinued after 24 October.
Dublin to Las Vegas will be discontinued after 3 December.
Dublin to Split will be discontinued after 29 September.
Dublin to Seattle will move to a summer-only operation after 24 October.
Dublin to Frankfurt will move to a summer-only operation after 2 November.
Dublin to Hamburg will move to a summer-only operation after 2 November.
Dublin to Malta will move to a summer-only operation after 3 November.

https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/aer-ling ... s-34299764

lumumba · Post by **lumumba** » 02 Aug 2026, 11:11

Crash.
The aircraft, a Cessna Caravan C-208, had been flying over Nazca Lines archaeological site when it went down on Saturday. Eleven passengers and two pilots were on board.

Post by **luchtzak** » 02 Aug 2026, 13:32

lumumba wrote: 02 Aug 2026, 11:11 Crash.
The aircraft, a Cessna Caravan C-208, had been flying over Nazca Lines archaeological site when it went down on Saturday. Eleven passengers and two pilots were on board.

Article: https://www.aviation24.be/miscellaneous ... atalities/

DIBO · Post by **DIBO** » 15 Aug 2026, 19:41

Dutch Chinook joined the fire fighting effort
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=48 ... rackLabels

Lux_avi · Post by **Lux_avi** » 15 Aug 2026, 21:17

But where are those firefighters?

https://www.aviation24.be/military-airc ... on-record/

lumumba · Post by **lumumba** » 08 Sep 2026, 17:08

LHR looks closed due ATC issues.

Aviation24.be